Flying-machine.



W. D. VALENTINE.

. FLYING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIOH rum) APB.30.1907.

Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

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APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, 1907.

W. D. VALENTINE.

FLYING MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED APR. 39,1907, 91 1,784. Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

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FLYING MACHINE.

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APPLIOA'IION FILED APB. 30,1907. 91 1,784. I Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

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FLYING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIOR FILED APB.30,1907.

Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

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W. D. VALENTINE.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, 1907.

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Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

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UNITED STATES WALTER n. VALENTINE, OF ALTADENA, CALIFORNIA.

,PATENT OFFICE.

' FLYING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WALTER D. VALEN- TINE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Altadena, in .the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Flying-Machines, of which the following is a specification. l

It is the objectof my invention to provide a flying machine having a large amount of propelling power compared: with the weight thereof, to embody in a flying machine as near as practicable that principle which enables birds to fly through the air with great rapidity and ease. To provide means whereby the" movement of the machine in any direction desired vmaybe controlled.

This is accomplished by means of the device described herein and'shown in the accom-.

panying drawings, in which Figure 1.- is a side elevation ofiny com plete airship. Fig. 2:f-is a plan view of the same. Fig. '3.-is a longitudinalvertical section of the frame of the air ship showing the 1 inside flanges and braces. 'Fig..'4.is a

longitudinal horizontal section ofthe same.

Fig. 5.-is a vertical cross section taken on line 5-'5 of Fig.3.'f Fig. 6.'is an enlarged detail partly in vsectionoffthe propeller and rudder mount'edjon the rear of the air ship.

Fig. 7. is an enlarged detail in elevation of the central lowersectmn of the a r ship showing the motor and the mountings and gearing connections of the same. i Fig. ,8.'-

is an enlargeddetailof the steering and wing operating mechanism mounted in the pilot s compartment in the. forward partof the air ship. Fig. 9.f-'ifsaj front elevation of the steering and wi g -operating mechanism. Fig. ].().f is a verticalcross section of the body of the air'fsliipshowin the wings attached thereto and alsoshoivin'gthe operating 'mechanisrn'for the Fig. llr lS an enlarged reproduction of the lower-part of Fig. 10. F ig. 12.is a si'de elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1']. .F ig.13; isa side elevation, enlarged, of a wingand the operating mechanism directly connected thereto. FigQlt-is a plan viewpf'the'same. Fig. ]5.-.-is a front elevation of tliewing carrying "disk or base; Fig .'i6. -"isa centralvertical section of-the same. Fig. 17 .-is a side elevation of a modified form of wing and the g Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed April 30, 1907. s n-.11 No. 311.111.

Patented Feb. 9, 1909.

the flaps to the wire which forms the frame of the wing, the parts shown in dotted'lines being used only with the modification shown is Figs. 17 and 18.

shell 25 of the air ship is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the shell being triangular in cross section as shown more clearly in detail with the Wings in Fig. 10. 'lhis shell is preferably made of aluminum, and the body .is divided into compartments which are air tight for the reception of the necessary gas to impart the necessary buoyancy thereto. Each compartrnentisprovided witha gas inlet 23, and outlet 24, as shown in Fig.-10.

Centrally disposed under the body is the propelling engine 26, and in the drawings I ave shown a five cylinder gasolene engine 28. These pipes are of sufiicient capacity to carry the necessary gasolene and constitute bracing frame members upon which the engine is also mounted. shaft 29 of the engine carries on its outer end rotate the spur gears 31 keyed on the driving shaft 32 by which rotary motion is im arted to the propeller-5U more part-ion lar y hereinafter described. the driving shaft will also impart motion to the wings 33 andthc manner in which this is done isqnore partimilnrly shown in Figs. '10, 11 and 12, and is as follows: On the driving shaft are keyed the 'l-TIQOPUI'EHilig cams 34 (a sideview of one of these cums isshown in Fig; 11' and an edge view in Fig. 12). Each 5 of these cams is provided withan irregular periphery, the configuration of which is I shown in Fig. 1]. and is adapted to impart a 5 vertical reciprocating motion to the wingoperating member This member strad- (lles (see Fig. 12-) the operating cam and also straddles the operating shaft (see Fig. '11) wings illustrating the mode of attachment of' having the usual carbureter 27 (see Fig. 7), gasolene being fed thereto through the pipes I a spur gear 30 which is adapted to mesh with an The rotatitm of The configuration of the outer casing or The usual crank and carriesin the lower extension orarm an anti-friction pulley 36 which is adapted to down much like the movement of the wings down, to the. right or left as desired.

cam. To permit a vertical reciprocating motion being imparted to the wing-operatuig member it is provided with a vertical longi-- bevel gear 52) on the hub of the propeller.

steering wheel, the rudder being mounted on a universal joint 51, which permits the rod der to be thus thrown into an angle.

Motion is imparted to the apparatus by the rotation of propeller 4.; through the main driving shaft 32 which carries on its rear end the beveled gear which meshes with a reciprocating or flying motion is imparted to These cables extend between a plurality of i anti-friction rollers 40 and serveto depress the outer ends of the. wings, the wing elevating springs 41 will elevate the outer ends and these acting together will cause the outer ends of the springs to move up and of a bird in flight. The wings are held normally in their upward or elevated position by the wing-elevating springs. lhe location and configuration of these springs are plainly shown in Figs. 13 and H. lhese springs will not only hold the wings in their upwardly and outwardly extended 'iosition, but will also keep the wing-operating cables taut.

It will be .i'nanifest' that upon tl e rotation of the operating shaft on which the win g-operating cams are mounted these cables will be alternatelv pulled downwardly 'by the .cam and the slack will be taken up by the wing-operating springs and a flapping motion imparted to the wings thereby. The cams may be arranged on the driving sl at't to'operate all the wings simultaneously or to operate them alternately so as to impart steady motion to the ship.

In the front end of the apparatus the frame is cut away as at 42 (Fig. 1) to provide space or compartment for the pilot or steersman. who stands upon the foot board or runway 43 (see Figs. 1, 8, 9, 10 and 11) extending therefrom to the rear of the ship. the pilot compartment is mounted a compass 44 in open view of the pilot.

The apparatus is steered as follows: The steering cables 45, of which there are four in number, two on either side of the a )paratus, are secured at their forward ends to the tiller 46, the tilting of which will cause the rudder 50 of the machine to work in or '1 iese cablesextend rearwardly along the side of the frame and pass through the journal 47 on which the propeller 48 is rotatively mounted.

The journal in which the ropeller shaft rotates is stationary and t rough it the steering cables extend rearwardly to the rojecting ends of the steering spider -19. his spider has four projecting arms to the end of each'of which is attached one end of one of the steering cords by means of which the rudder 50 may be thrown into any angle desired to steer the machine by tilting the i i i the wings, as has been hctcinhetore explained, on the rotation of the driving shaft. The wings extend outwardly on each side of the main body and are so mounted on the frame that an angular position can be inr parted thereto by the oscillation of the wingcarrying disks 53 (see ligs. 15, H, 1.") and lo), which movement is imparted thereto through the disk oscillating cables 55, secured to t to upper periphery of the disk as shown in l ig. 15. 'l hese disks are revolubly secured to the frame by the central bolt 56 on ball bearings 5? thin. an. '1 he motion necessary to change the angle of the wings is imparted thereto by the rotation of the vertical shaft 55 disposed in the pilots compartment (s e Figs. and S1) to which the forward ends of these wires are wrapped and secured. l his shaft is rotated by the rotation of the wheel 59 keyed thereon by the pilot.

The apparatus is provided with a plu-- rality of wings. in the drawings 1 have shown three series of wings on each side of the shell. Each series is n'oridcd with a plurality of wings 33 st aggeringly disposed, one above the other to close as far as possible all intervening space looking downwardl between these wings. llach wing tl igs. 13 and ll) is made up of a base frame. member tit) and is pivotally mounted in the wing-securing lugs 61. on the wingopcrating base plate 54.. Projecting outwardly from the base member to the. end of the wing is the central wing stitl'ening member o2. 'lhis stiticning member supports a plurality olf tlap-supporting members or; running parallel thereto to which the wing flaps 64 are pivotally secured and hang in a suspended position therefrom. 'l he llaps are prevented from falling into a. vertical position by means of the hopsupporting cables (55 (see Fig. 19) which limit the movement downwardly of the free edges of the flaps, the purpose of which is to cause the flaps to close when the wing is thrown downwardly and prevent the passage of air therethrougl'rand to permit the flaps to open on the up motion of the wing and permit the air to pass. An opening 66 extends from the enginecrs cmnpartnieut (37 through the shell to the top of the same for obser vation purposes. Thus it will be seen that the wings will open and close automatically when an up and down motion is imparted thereto and can be thrown into any angle and therefore act to elevate or depress the ship or to project it ahead or stop it or by giving ltlii tion;a1*d its gas tight compartments, the.

a certain angle to the Wings provide means to cause the ship to move backwardly. By giving the proper angle of inclination to the wings the ship may be raised and moved forward at the same time,.or any other combinations of direction may be effected. Thus I haveperfect'control and am enabled to land easily and safely.

sists of four telescoping legs 80 attached to the side walls of the ship near'the bottom frame, two of these legs being attached near each end. 'lhese'legs are preferably formed of two pieces of telescoping tubing 81 and 82 which are closed at their outer ends so as to hold an air cushion upon which the ship may rest when landing. The air cushion obviates all unnecessary jars and unequal strains upon the frame of the ship. 83 which are attached to both of the tubings 81 and 82 prevent thelower tubing from slipping entirely ofl the upper one.

Un account of the generalrigid.construcship willfioat in water and will even be able to make headway to land as its general trian lar crosssection will cause it to float uprig tly in the water and the propeller and wings will enable it to make headway.

In Figs. 17 and 18 I have shown a modified form of wing in which the flaps are adapted to be closed andopened automatically by the same mechanisnr-which operates the,

wing. To this end the upper end of cable 38 is secured to the short end of lever 70 which is pivoted on an arm 71 attached to the wing frame. Wing elevating spring 41 is not attached dirctly to the frame of the wing, but

is connected by a short rod 72 to the short end of lever 70. The long end of lever 70 is pivotally secured to 'a transverse bar 73 which is-connected by hooks or other convenient means to each of the wing'flaps 64. Stops 74 are iprovided on arm 71 to limit the movement 0 lever between its positions for opening and closing the flaps? By this arrangement it will be noted that spring 41 will always hold the flaps open except when cable 38 is pulling downwardly when the flaps will be closed. If the wings are held still the flaps will be closed as the weightof the wing frame will hold it against them. When in this position the wings will form aeroplanes upon. which the ship may sail under the propulsion of the propeller. When the wing is operating, the flaps will be opened at their lowest point by the wing-elevating- .otally secured to the flap-supporting'mem- Wires oted disk, means to rotate said disk, a Wing base frame member pivotally mounted on said disk, a longitudinal frame member exto said longitudinal frame member. I have shown a landing device which con- 2. The herein described wing, each wing comprising a base member pivotally moujnt- 75 ed on the wing carrying disk, a central wingstiflening member proj ecting outwardly from the base member, flap supporting members carried by said stiffening member, flaps pivbers, means to limit the downward movement of the flaps and means to impart an n and down movement to said wing and a Splral spring surrounding the base member, the projecting'end of said spiral spring adapted to engage projecting lugs on the wing carrying disk and adapted to hold and engage the central stiffening member and hold the same in an elevated position, a wing-depressing scribed having means for its elevation and propulsion as shown, the herein described means to guide the said air ship in its movement through the air, comprising a rudder having a steering spider with four projecting arms, cords extending from the end of each 'of the four arms to a guiding tiller in the bow of the ship, said tiller being mounted on a universal joint and adapted to be thrown into angle by the pilot therein and thereby operate the rudder.

4: An air ship comprising a hollow-metallic shell of triangular cross-section with the apex thereof lowermost, a motor mounted at the bottom and center of said shell, a longi- 11o tudinal shaft extending along the lower side of said shell and operated by said motor, cams on said shaft, vibrating wings mounted on said shell, and connecting means between said wings and said cams.

5. An air ship comprising a tubular framework in the form of a skeleton triangular prism having a lateral edge lowermost, ametallic covering for said framework, said covering forming a containing receptacle, a

l motor mounted on. sald framework, a longltudinal shaft extending along the lower side of said shell and operated by said motor, cams on said shaft, vibrating wings mounted on said shell, and connecting means between said wings and said cams.

6. An air ship comprising a metallic frame and shell, a motor mounted on said frame, a shaft extending longitudinally of said frame and operated by said motor, a series of vibrating Wings arranged in horizontal tiers and in vertical staggered rows.

In witness that I claim the fm'vgoing I have hereunto suhserihml my name this 2 ll .1

day of April, 1907.

\VALTER I). VALEN'IIN I) 

